Why a Luxor Hot Air Balloon Ride Belongs at the Very Top of Your Bucket List

Why a Luxor Hot Air Balloon Ride Belongs at the Very Top of Your Bucket List

There are times while traveling when it feels like the hands of time come to a complete stop. You don't have a watch on you, you are not rushing off to check your email, and you do not care at all about whatever you have left to do because you know that whatever plans you had have been set in stone anyway. Such an experience I had about 500 feet from the earth's surface while I was hovering silently over the West Bank of Luxor as the sun rays were melting the Nile into beautiful colors of gold.

Should you decide to visit Egypt anytime soon, many people would advise you to make sure that you see some sights: walking among the magnificent columns of the Karnak Temple, exploring the treasures of the Valley of Kings and enjoying the Nile by taking a relaxing felucca ride. They would be absolutely right: all of these activities should definitely be on your list. But, should you want to see something really extraordinary and amazing, which would leave goose bumps even after years of thinking about it, you need to book yourself a hot air balloon ride.

Here is what makes this morning

1. You Get to See Ancient History from an Entirely Different Angle

It is very difficult not to have been used to seeing the history from the ground level. When you go for the archaeological exploration of ancient sites, you look up to observe giant stone pillars, you walk on dusty paths of the ruins of temple walls, and try to visualize yourself back in time thousands of years ago during the reign of the ancient pharaohs.

However, things are completely different when you are in the basket of the balloon.

As you are drifting quietly into the morning air, the landscape underneath begins to appear like a history book that is alive and breathing. You get to observe the open roof plan of the mortuary temples and the mountainous paths of the royal necropolis and see how the green belt of the Nile valley dramatically meets the golden sand of the Western Desert.

2. The Pure, Uninterrupted Silence of the Morning Sky

In most cases, one expects a balloon ride to be a noisy and wild experience, especially with the burners that throw out huge flames overhead. However, the experience turns out to be completely different from expectations.

After you are well airborne and the burners take a short break from their work, you are left with an eerie and surreal silence in the sky. Once you are in the sky, you are no longer able to hear the incessant noise of traffic in the urban areas. Instead, you are left with nothing more than a whispering wind and the faint whispers of travelers sitting together with you in the basket.

3. The Sunrise Over the Nile is Simply Unmatched

Let us be honest with each other; nobody really enjoys getting out of bed at 3:30 AM on vacation. The alarm clock rings way too soon, your eyelids will be heavy, and chances are that at some point you will start thinking about the many bad decisions that led you to the hotel room in the middle of the night.

However, I can assure you that as soon as the first ray of sunlight reaches the surface and lights up the entire valley, all those feelings of tiredness will disappear.

Seeing a sunrise from a hot air balloon above Luxor is similar to seeing a great painting being created live in front of you. The sky gradually changes its color from indigo to dusty pink, then becomes a fiery orange, and the murky waters of the Nile turn into a ribbon of liquid light.

Understanding the Logistics: What Actually Happens?

Understanding the whole morning routine would be easier if you understand the whole morning routine starting from the very beginning. You will usually be picked up early in the morning even before sunrise. All local companies pick people up right from their hotels on either side of the Nile River at about 4:00 am or 4:30 am.

You will drive down to the banks of the Nile River and you and the other people in your group will board a small boat for crossing the river in the darkness of the morning. It is an exciting journey with the cool breeze of the river blowing past your face. Once you get to the West Bank, vans take you off to the launch area.

It’s not just reaching the launch field but the experience itself which makes up for half the fun. You will find countless gigantic balloons lying flat on the sand in front of you, lit up from inside with burners heating up the air and making them resemble giant floating lanterns. It’s exciting to stand near these giants which are slowly inflating and standing upright into the sky.

In no time, you realize you are hopping on top of the edge of the wicker basket, settling down in your reserved spot and getting a safety briefing by your pilot. And then, before you even know it, you’re up in the air after a smooth lifting process where there isn’t any sudden jerking motion but rather just smooth vertical motion upwards.

Practical Tips for a Flawless Flight

In case you have decided that the moment has arrived for you to take this flight and tick this amazing experience off your bucket list, here are a few tips that will ensure you have the easiest of mornings:

Book in advance: These are strictly regulated flights that only allow a certain number of seats, and with such clear weather on offer, slots tend to fill up quickly, particularly at the height of the tourist season in Egypt.

Layer your clothing: You might find it quite cold in the open desert air before dawn, but the temperatures rise rapidly with the dawn of day. Your best bet would be wearing an easily removable light jacket or sweater.

Make safety a priority: Always make safety the top priority when it comes to flight; do not go solely on finding the least expensive option. Instead, look for a company with a good safety record and professional pilots and equipment.

Take precautions with your gear: Make sure that you have your phone or camera with you for pictures, but that the device has a wrist strap or fits securely in a pocket with a zipper. It would be unfortunate to drop your phone from 500 feet in the air!

Enjoy the ride: You may find yourself spending the entire 45 minutes looking through the camera. Instead, take a break from the camera every once in a while and simply enjoy the scenery with your own eyes.

Why You Will Never Regret Saying Yes

Making decisions during travel involves numerous challenges that make you calculate money expenses, fit everything into your schedule, and think of what events are "really worth it" and what is the usual tourist trap.

A trip by hot air balloon over Luxor cannot be considered a tourist trap. This is your chance to get the experience that you will never forget. No matter how long it will take until you no longer remember the name of the restaurant where you dined, or the description you read in the museum on a particular plate, you will definitely recall the sensation of soaring over the ground of an old kingdom in the morning air.

Put this event on the top of your agenda; you won't be sorry about it.